


the very thought of you

by somethinglikegumption



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Noir, F/M, Reporter Betty Cooper, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Speakeasies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 21:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16272269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethinglikegumption/pseuds/somethinglikegumption
Summary: inspired by the new photos of the speakeasy, a vaguely noir mystery featuring cub reporter Betty Cooper, gang leader Jughead Jones, and investigating a secret meeting...and maybe each other.





	the very thought of you

**Author's Note:**

> Un-beta'ed, because I wrote this at 10 pm.

It’s still early when he enters the bar. Early enough, in fact, that the few patrons inside the speakeasy have to cover their eyes at the beams of light snaking in the door from the setting sun.

Reggie beckons him from behind the bar and he follows, letting the door slam shut to the relief of the booze hounds inside.

“Jughead Jones out and about before sunset? I was beginning to think you were a vampire,” Reggie teases, his hands already moving to pour Jughead a whiskey on the rocks.

“Got a good tip about our friends on the Southside. Not that you’d know anything about that?” Jughead asks, Reggie offering nothing but a single wink in return. He pushes the glass towards Jughead and turns back to the wall of bottles to place the whiskey on the top shelf.

“Take a seat wherever,” he tosses over his shoulder, and Jughead obliges, grabbing his drink to find a place in a back booth with a clear view of the door.

Ever since Reggie had left the Wyrm and started pouring at Veronica Lodge’s speakeasy, his keen ears had picked up more and more drunken chatter about the new gangs muscling in on the Serpents’ turf. Jughead was all too happy to sit in the bar, drink in his hand, listening to the singers Veronica brought down from Montreal while keeping an eye out for any funny business.

Most of the time, the knowledge had panned out and Jughead had kept the Serpents another step ahead of their rivals.

A new threat had come to Riverdale, however, and they were smarter than the local boys who thought they could cross the Serpents. 

They called themselves Ghoulies. Jughead had rolled his eyes when he first heard that, but then he saw how they made themselves up for battle. Black suits, face paint, the whole nine yards. It was like a Halloween horror show every night.

The costumes were only the start. The drugs and violence they brought with them were threatening the livelihood of families. Children. Innocent Southside residents who didn’t deserve the Ghoulies’ reign of terror.

It was up to Jughead and the Serpents to stop them. 

The singer warming up for the night breaks Jughead from his thoughts. Josie McCoy, that night's entertainment, nods at him from the stage and he salutes her back. If anything happened backstage, Josie would know about it.

The few patrons in the bar turn their heads towards the stage when she starts to croon, an old song about a man who went away and did her wrong. Jughead lets the music wash over him as he watches and waits, scanning the room for anything out of place.

More people enter the speakeasy as Josie weaves her tales in song, guys and gals out for a night of fun on the town. They all go straight to the bar to get their beverage of choice and Reggie pours quickly, working his way through the crowd. 

The raucous laughter of a table of younger Serpents covers the closing of Josie’s song, but the entire room stills when she moves into the next refrain.

“ _ The very thought of you, and I forget to do…”  _ she starts, and the door swings open with the beat. Jughead’s eyes automatically follow the movement. 

What he sees takes his breath away.

Her blonde hair curls over a sequin covered shoulder, swept to the side with diamond pins. The silver embellishments shine in the low light of the speakeasy as her dark-lined eyes scan the room. When she floats to the bar, his eyes can’t help but linger.

Pressing up against the dark wood, she leans up to wave Reggie over, flashing a hint of a seamed stocking beneath the sequins. He greets her like an old friend, reaching for a bottle below the bar before she can even speak.

After he fills her glass, she leans over to press a kiss against his cheek and takes her glass to a low table near the stage. A single candle flickers there, casting shadows over her face. 

Jughead keeps his eyes locked on her much longer than he should, especially when a Ghoulie could walk in at any moment.

She's much better to watch than any Ghoulie, though.

Her upper body sways to the jazzy beats of Josie’s songs, and she offers small bits of applause at their conclusions. Jughead can’t help but smile as her face falls with childlike disappointment when the band announces they’re taking a break.

It doesn’t distract her for long. Jughead’s intuition kicks in when she glances around furtively from her table. Then she’s on the move, skirting the outside of the room to reach a door on the far wall labelled Employees Only.

Jughead can’t believe his eyes when she turns the knob and slides inside. 

Not two seconds later, his glass is abandoned on his table and he has followed her through, a quick wave at Reggie ensuring they won’t be disturbed.

The hallway is dim, even darker than the mood-lit bar just on the other side of the door. The lone light is at the far end of the hall, with only the small bits of light seeping under doorways brightening the hall.

Even the darkness of the hallway can’t black out those silver sequins. 

Halfway down the hall, past the dressing rooms and closets, the blonde is crouched next to a door with a brighter light shining around the frame. Lighter in one hand, the other hand is wrapped around a pen, frantically moving across a notepad balanced on her knees.

She leans in closer to the office door and almost presses her ear to the wood. He can just see the smooth line of her arm in the lighter’s glow, and he creeps closer to grab her by the shoulder.

The lighter goes out quickly and she lets out a gasp of surprise. The pad and pen fall to the floor as she jumps into a defensive stance, hands ready to strike out at whoever snuck up on her.

Except she can barely balance herself, and she falls onto her backside as Jughead struggles to hold in a laugh.

“Who are you? What are you doing back here?” she demands from her spot on the floor, arms sweeping out to find a weapon. 

Jughead swipes the lighter towards him with his foot to keep it out of her reach. “What am I doing back here? I should be asking you that, considering I have permission to be here and last I checked, you don’t work here.”

Words catch in her throat as she starts excuses and discards them just as quickly.

She is still trying to choke out a response when the quiet murmurs on the other side of the door suddenly go silent. Heavy footsteps come closer, and Jughead has to act fast. 

Grabbing the blonde’s arm and yanking her up to his chest, he breathes “ _ Just trust me _ ” into her ear before the door swings open and he presses his lips to hers.

Her protests die in a heartbeat, her eyes sliding closed as her lips part to exhale against his mouth. Her fingers creep up his suspenders, grasping the fabric in her fists as she pulls herself closer to deepen the kiss. It takes him slightly by surprise, but he welcomes the embrace, his hands moving down her arms to span her waist.

“Get a room,” the Ghoulie on the other side of the door says before slamming it shut again, this time with a decisive click of the lock.

Slowly, regretfully, Jughead pulls his lips from hers and detaches his hands from her hips. Her eyes are still closed and she’s panting when he leans down to pick up her dropped notes. 

“Well...sorry about breaking up your party, but that was some kiss sweetheart,” he says with a cocky grin. Her eyes snap open, and her face reddens as he hands her the notebook.

“You - you -” she sputters, but thinking better of it, she takes the notebook in her hand and slaps him in the chest with it, hard.

She storms down the hall and Jughead stalks after her, rubbing the spot with his hand to try to drive away the stinging pain.

“Did you really hate it that much?” he asks, and she huffs in response. 

She reaches the door into the club first, but Jughead is quick on her heels, slamming a hand on the door over her head before she can turn the knob.

“Now, we’re going to have a little chat about why you’re sneaking around in private places and getting yourself into trouble with strangers,” he says into her hair. She spins in his arms, hitting him again in the chest, this time with an open palm.

“What about you, huh? Why did you follow me?” she fights back. “What business do you have with the Ghoulies?”

He rolls up his sleeve to display the Serpent tattoo emblazoned on his forearm. “Does this ring any bells, sweetheart?”

Everyone in Riverdale knows about the Serpents. Bootleggers, petty thieves, men and boys roughing up shopkeepers who don’t pay their protection fees.

At least, that’s how it was before Jughead got involved.

He has to admit, the reputation is welcome in times like these. The blonde instantly freezes up, eyes locked on the tattoo.

“I’m sorry - I just wanted - I mean,” she sighs, before dropping her chin to her chest in deference. “I’ll just go.”

“But we were having so much fun,” he says, arm falling to his side. He notices the blonde tense, then relax at the motion, as if she was anticipating a blow to follow.  _ That just won’t do _ , he thinks to himself.

“What’s your name, darling?” He asks, and he sees that fiery hellcat come out again.

“Why would I tell you, snake?” she sneers. 

“Well, my tongue was just down your throat five minutes ago. I usually like to know a woman’s name after that.”

“Betty Cooper,” she pushes out from behind clenched teeth, holding her hand out in a forced show of politeness. He takes it in his, noticing the ink stains on her fingertips and the crease on the inside of her wrist from leaning against a desk all day.

“You a reporter, Cooper?”

“What gave it away?” she asks, a wary look in her eye. Jughead looks pointedly down at her hand, still wrapped in his, and she snatches it away in an instant.

“If you must know, yes. I’m writing a review of the speakeasy and how the town is-”

“Cut the crap, sweetheart. If you were writing about the bar you’d be in the main room watching the acts, not sulking down side hallways that are off limits to good girls like you,” he says, watching carefully for a reaction. He doesn’t have to look too hard as her shoulders drop in defeat.

“I’m not really a reporter,” she admits. “I get coffee at the Register and sometimes copyedit for the writers. This  _ was _ going to be my first big story,” she pauses, and side-eyes him, “until you burst in and made me miss everything they said in that room.”

“Save the blame. I can tell you everything they talked about in there.”

Her eyes light up at that. “Really? What did they say?”

“I could tell you, but how do I know you won’t go running off after a dangerous gang if I give you that information?” He questions, pondering with a finger to his lips. “It’s not safe for a girl like you to go alone.”

She rolls her eyes in response. “What if I promise to not go alone? I’ve got a neighbor who could be my muscle.”

“Northside boys?” Jughead scoffs. “They couldn’t defend themselves from a strong wind.”

Betty stamps her foot in frustration. “What will it take to get you to give me the scoop?”

He thinks it over. He’s not actually positive what they discussed, but if he trusts his gut and the rumors pouring out with Reggie’s alcohol, they were planning that month’s drop of drugs. It would be quick work to set a guy on their warehouse for a stakeout.

How could he keep from telling her the details and going alone though?

A light bulb flicks on in his mind and he smiles a wolfish grin.

“You’re not getting the information unless I go too.”

“What?” she yelps, and he has to double check the hallway to make sure none of the doors opened at the sound. The music from the club outside must have masked the noise as there’s no movement down the hall.

“If I tell you everything, you’re just going to chase it down on your own and God knows how you’ll screw up my work on the Southside if you go off half-cocked. It’s for your safety,” he says, “and my sanity.”

She examines his face, looking for any trace of deceit. He keeps his focus on her, trying to release the tension creeping into his jaw at the thought of this slip of a girl facing down a gang. 

She must see something in his eyes because she steps back and nods once. 

“Fine. I’ll give you my telephone number and you can call me when you’re ready,” she says. The notepad and pen come out again as she scribbles down the number and rips out the sheet. “Don’t try anything funny. I’m good friends with the Sheriff’s son and I’m not afraid to tell him how a Serpent accosted me.”

“How are you going to do that without telling him you were at the illegal speakeasy?” he asks, and laughs at her affronted gasp. 

Reaching for the door handle, he lets his hand graze her hip on the way by. The sequins scratch his forearm as he turns the knob, her body moving closer to his to avoid the door swinging open into her back.

His other arm comes up instinctively to wrap around her waist, moving her to the side. Checking the coast is clear on the other side of the door, he takes one last glance down at his new accomplice in the brighter light of the bar. 

Her eyes are wide and sparkling, the thrill of almost getting caught bringing a rosy blush to her cheeks. She bites her lip, and he can’t resist one more tease after seeing her excitement.

“Thanks for the entertainment, sweetheart,” he murmurs, and presses another hard kiss to her lips before sliding out the door, moving quickly to the exit to escape the crowded club for the cool air of the evening.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I will be continuing this. No, I'm not sure when.
> 
> Come talk to me about it on [Tumblr.](http://jordansconnor.tumblr.com)


End file.
